After a players-only dinner, led by Julius Randle, the Knicks answered and beat the Jazz, 118-111 in Utah on Tuesday.
In the team’s first of their five-game West Coast road trip, coach Tom Thibodeau started RJ Barrett, Randle, Cam Reddish, Isaiah Hartenstein and Jalen Brunson against the Pistons.
Here are the takeaways….
– The Knicks got off to a hot start shooting with Brunson and Barrett using their mid-range game to give New York an early lead. Hartenstein picked up his second foul with more than eight minutes remaining in the first quarter, and Thibs had to bring in Jericho Sims early.
Sims provided some energy in the early going, saving balls, grabbing rebounds that led to fast-break opportunities. Reddish, while he struggled offensively his defense helped keep the score close even when the Knicks went more than three minutes without scoring. Both teams went back-and-forth but Utah ended the opening frame up 27-23.
The Knicks shot 38 percent and 3-for-10 from three. But it was their lack of defense that got them in trouble. They allowed the Jazz to shoot 48 percent and turned the ball over four times. Nine Knicks came in at some point in the first quarter as Thibodeau continues to look for the best rotation.
– Obi Toppin, Immanuel Quickley, Derrick Rose, Barrett and Sims started the second quarter for the Knicks. This group used turnovers and great defense to retake the lead at 33-32 with eight minutes to go in the second. Both teams would go on their runs and the score would remain close throughout.
It was clear that the Knicks’ defense had improved and had more energy, but they were careless on offense, which led to easy Jazz buckets. A wild, frantic finish in the final minute, capped off by a three-pointer from Brunson at the buzzer, helped the Knicks to a 61-58 lead at the half.
The Knicks allowed 47 percent shooting from Utah, but it was offset by New York shooting 58 percent in the second. And it was a balanced effort from the Knicks. Brunson led the Knicks with 13 points, but Randle (11) and Barrett (10) also went into the half with double-digit points. Hartenstein and Sims picked up their third fouls in the second quarter, so Thibodeau had to go small with Randle and Toppin on the floor in the final minutes.
– The starting five were on the floor to start the third quarter. After getting to the line just seven times in the first half, Barrett would get to the free-throw line early and…